What Is GI-BMP Training, and Who Needs It in Florida?

The GI-BMP program teaches science based landscape practices that help protect Florida’s ground water and surface water. It was developed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and is delivered by the UF/IFAS Florida-Friendly Landscaping program.

The class follows the program’s manual, Florida-Friendly Best Management Practices for Protection of Water Resources by the Green Industries. UF/IFAS recommends getting the manual and studying it before class.

The program is built for people who work in landscapes: lawn care, landscape maintenance, pest control and irrigation workers, along with municipal staff, property managers, builders and designers.

Florida Statute 482.1562 says that any person applying commercial fertilizer to an urban landscape must hold a Limited Certification for Urban Landscape Commercial Fertilizer Application from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). That requirement began January 1, 2014. The certification is often shortened to LF.

To apply for the LF certification, each applicator has to complete GI-BMP training and earn a certificate of completion. UF/IFAS describes the LF as required for anyone applying fertilizer for hire on residential or commercial properties, parks, or non-agricultural fields. Each individual applicator needs their own.

A few points that often come up:

• It covers fertilizer only. The LF does not allow you to apply pesticides, including weed and feed products that mix pesticide and fertilizer, and it does not allow you to run a pest control business.
• There is a narrow exemption. The statute exempts yard workers who apply fertilizer only to individual residential properties, using fertilizer and equipment supplied by the owner or resident.
• Local rules can add more. A county or city may also require the GI-BMP certificate to register a lawn or landscape company or to work on a maintenance crew. Check with your local tax collector or county Extension office.

Here in Pinellas County, the county fertilizer ordinance also bans nitrogen and phosphorus on turf and landscape plants from June 1 to September 30, which is the kind of local rule the class helps you understand.

UF/IFAS offers the GI-BMP training three ways:

• In person. Usually a one day class of six to eight hours, taught by a UF/IFAS Extension office or another certified GI-BMP instructor.
• Live online. Instructor led classes over Zoom.
• Self-paced online. About six hours of video with required quizzes.

Classes are offered in English and Spanish, and in-person Haitian Creole classes can be scheduled when needed.

Every format ends with a test. You need a score of at least 75 percent to earn the GI-BMP certificate. After an in-person class, certificates and wallet cards usually arrive by mail within about two weeks; after the online course, they usually arrive within one or two business days.

The GI-BMP certificate itself does not expire. The fertilizer certification you get with it does.

Once you have your GI-BMP certificate, UF/IFAS lists these steps for the fertilizer certification:

1. Find the certificate number on your GI-BMP certificate. The application asks for it.
2. Sign in or register at the FDACS licensing portal.
3. Choose Apply for New License, Standard, and pick the license type Limited Urban Commercial Fertilizer Applicator (LF).
4. Complete the application and pay the $25 fee.

The LF certification expires four years after it is issued. To renew, you need four continuing education units (CEUs): two in 482 CORE and two in the LF category. FDACS sends a renewal notice before the certification expires, and the statute allows up to 30 days after expiration before you have to apply again from the start.

Most in-person and live Zoom GI-BMP classes award all four CEUs needed for renewal, so some people retake the class to renew. The self-paced online course does not award CEUs. It is worth confirming CEUs with the instructor before you sign up.

We have four people qualified to teach GI-BMP.

We plan to host GI-BMP classes in Pinellas County. If you would like to know when the next one is scheduled, contact our office and we will let you know.

For more on landscape topics, browse our education library.